The Little Weasel
by Grantourer
Summary: This is a what if story, like what if Buck lived in the late 1800's? The year is 1890 and a 15 year old Buck has immigrated to America. When he arrives he comes across an abandoned 6 year old weasel kit who soon accepts him so he decides to raise the poor child himself, but life for the poor is very difficult in these times and every day will be a fight for survival.
1. Chapter 1

Ice Age and its characters are property of Blue Sky Studios.

Warning, this story is dark and may be sad and depressing to some readers.

* * *

(Year: 1890. Location: New York City)

A steam liner from Great Britain arrives in New York Harbor and its passengers disembark. Most of them are humans seeking new opportunities in America, but a few who had stowed away in the hull of the ship were animals, mice, rats, raccoons, cats, dogs, possums, pretty much any stray/wild animal you'd find in the city, but one passenger stood out from the rest, a young weasel named Buck who's parents told him to leave for America to escape a war among small mammals that was raging across the UK. His family was very poor and only had enough money for him to flee to safer lands. However America wasn't quite like he had expected, he though it would be a nice place with accepting people, but when he got off the ship he noticed some people giving him funny and suspicious looks, and the sky was dark and cloudy from the smoke coming from the factorys and numerous steam ships coming in and out the harbor.

_Why is everyone lookin at me so funny, its like they've never seen a weasel before._ He thought. There were people everywhere, both human and animals, but he began to notice the lack of anything weasel like, which he found a bit odd, but it did kind of explain why everyone was looking at him funny. He made his way to the alleys were all the citys animal communitys lay. Most animal structures were made out of stuff the humans had thrown away like large cans that were joined together or were built into the human structures, but kept separate from them by the walls. As he walked down the street in search for a place to live in he heard someone pleading to someone else who sounded like they wanted to hurt the other person.

"P-Please, I-I didn't mean to bump into you, someone shoved me, honest."

"You calling me a liar you little runt?"

"N-N-No, s-sir, j-just please spare me."

Buck went in to get a closer look and to his horror it was a scrawny little weasel kit, it couldn't have even been ten years old, and it was being tormented and threatened by a group of 3 rats who appeared to be around his age, maybe even a bit older, he wasn't going to stand for this so he decided to intervene. "Oi, you rats, leave the kid alone!" They turned around and the little weasel scurried into a small ally.

"Oh what, are you his big brother or something, you weasels should go back into the country were you belong."

"I wish I could but I need to make enough money to get my parents over here, so I can't."

"Boys, shall we teach this weasel a lesson on why you don't mess with street rats?" They nodded in agreement.

"Oh, thats no' such a good idea." All the rats went after Buck, but he dodged them then hit one of them in the back, knocking him over, but the other two came back and charged, Buck charged at one of them and pounced as they collided and began biting, clawing, and punching each other. Buck was clearly winning until he was suddenly picked up by the groups leader and punched hard in the face and sent crashing to the ground, the rat then sized up on the downed weasel.

"Had enough yet?" He asked sisterly

"I'm only jus gettin started." He quickly got up and delivered blow of his own, sending the rat stumbling backwards and falling to the ground. Buck then pounced on him but this fight was a bit more evenly matched than the first guy, but then the first rat he had knocked over came over and tried to pull him off his leader, but Buck kicked him back and continued to wrestle with the leader. Eventually the fight went into bucks favor as the rat began to struggle to break free and run, Buck finally let him and all three rats fled.

"This isn't the last you'll see of us!" The leader yelled back.

"And I'll kick yer arse again if ya dare fight me again!" Buck then decided to check on the little kit to see if it was alright, and he was certain its parents were worried sick, he was disgusted that someone would push a kid around like that, but then again, it wasn't anything new since child labor was still relatively common among the mammals in Britain, and in other countries as well from what he had heard. He looked around the area and eventually saw the kit peaking around the corner, when he approached it the kit fled. "Wait, I jus want to make sure your ok and deliver ya to yer parents!" He chased after the little child, but it wasn't easy, it was fast, very fast as it fled through crowds of people through the ally ways, but he managed to keep up with it, just, and saw it run into a small hole in the side of an abandoned building. He entered it and found it to be empty except for a small pile of straw in the far corner, and there was the little kit, curled up in a ball shivering in fright, it appeared to be a boy, it was wearing old, filthy, torn up cloths, and looked like it had been beaten a few times and it was very thin, even by weasel standards.

"P-P-Please d-d-don't h-hurt m-me." It squeaked timidly.

"'urt ya, I'm no' gonna 'urt ya, I want to know if yer ok."

"The last person who said that kicked me to the ground and punched me in the face."

"I'm no' gonna do anything like tha, I swear, weres ya parents?"

"I-I don't have them anymore, they abandoned me, they just dumped me in the streets and left me to fend for myself, and they were rich to, they had more than enough to raise and take care of me and have plenty left over for themselves, they said I was an accident, a mistake, that I should of never been born and that I will never achieve anything." The little weasel then began to cry.

_Poor lad, 'e's been through a lot and can 'ardly take care of 'imselfe. _Buck thought to himself. "Listen, I know ya may no' trus' me but I'm willing to take ya in, I will take care of ya and I won't let anything 'appen to ya."

"Y-You will?"

"Yes, I won't let anyone 'urt ya, no' on my watch."

The little child slowly crawled over on all fours and looked up at him with tear filled eye. "You really mean it?"

"Every last word."

The weasel kit then suddenly embraced Buck in a loving hug. "Thank you, new father, you're the only person whos ever cared about me."

Buck chuckled and gave a warm smile. "Jus call me Buck, I'm no' an adult myself, I'm only 15, now, do ya 'ave a name?"

"Edmond."

"Well Edmond, shall we go find somethin to eat?"

"Yes!" He replied happily, feeling happiness for the first time in a very long time as they set off to find some food.


	2. Chapter 2

Ice Age and its characters are property of Blue Sky Studios.

* * *

The two weasels were finding it very difficult to find food, neither of them had money so restaurants were out of the question and the first place that gave food away to the poor told them to leave or they'd call the cops, there was only one more place left that could serve food to them, if they refused then they'd be forced to search through the trash for anything edible, something Buck had never done, but Edmond had. They arrived at the food stand and thankfully the line wasn't too long and before they knew it they were at the counter, but there was a problem. "We don't serve your kind here."

"Why no'?"

"Because weasels can't be trusted, especially here in the big city."

"Tha's no' 'ow it is in Britain, and can't ya at least spare jus' a little fo' my adoptive son?"

The tender took a quick look at the starving weasel kit and sighed. "Fine, I suppose I can spare some for your child, but your going to have to look elsewhere." The tender then fixed up a basic bowel of soup and handed it to Edmond, who gulped it down in no time.

"Thank you." He said timidly.

"Ok, then were am I suppose to get food?"

"Unless the other food stand is willing to give to weasels or you suddenly make a bundle of cash then you'll need to search in the trash."

Buck grumbled and went over to a near by ally and took one good look at the trash. "I'm suppose to get food from this?" He asked disgustedly.

"I often have to dig through the trash to get food." Edmund replied sadly.

"On second thought, I'm no' tha 'ungry right now, I'll see if they're willing to give me anything tomorrow. Perhaps I should start lookin fo' a job, tha shouldn't be to 'ard." They went all through out the city spending the rest of the day looking for a job, though Buck didn't want Edmund to get a job yet, he knew that the factorys were very dangerous and he couldn't bear the thought of losing Edmond in the factory, however none of the employers wanted him, so they went back to Edmonds place. "This is no' 'ow I expected America to be, I thought tha America was accepting and 'ad plenty of opportunities fo' everyone, no' a unaccepting place were everyone's so self centered and mean."

"I blame the rich, all they care about is themselves and from what I've heard they barely pay their workers."

"Its like tha were I come from too, my parents work in a factory and get paid almost nothin, I've worked in factorys myself since I was 10, and almost got my self injured or killed several times, I swear, the governments better step in and stop this tyranny or people will continue to suffer and die."

"I hope things improve soon, I hate living like this."

"So this is where ya live?"

"Yes, its the only place I could find."

"Well it'll 'ave to do fo' now, where did ya get tha straw?"

"Theres a guy at the harbor who sells it, but I had to work for him without pay for 14 hours each day every day for 6 months just to get this small amount here."

"Foget tha, I need payment so I can buy us food and save up enough so I can pay fo' my parents to move 'ere."

"Do you think they will accept me?"

"I'm sure they will, now why don't we get some sleep, its getting late, and we will need to search fo' food again tomorrow, and I still need to find a job."

"Ok, good night Buck."

"G'night lad."

The next day they began their search for food again, but this time the people at the soup stands wouldn't give either of them anything which forced them to desperate measures. "I was 'opeing we wouldn't 'ave to do this."

"You'll get use to it, hopefully we won't have to do this much longer." Edmund then climbed up a trash can and knocked it down spilling its contents. "Theres usually something edible in these." They both began to search through the trash for any scraps of food they could eat.

"Do the 'umans mind us digging through their garbage like this?"

"I don't know, but I have seen quite a few people do it." However they were soon interrupted when a human came out the building to investigate the crash they just heard.

"HEY, YOU RATS GET OUT OF THAT, SCRAM, BEAT IT!" The human yelled angrily as it threw a glass bottle at them, almost hitting its mark as the two weasels fled.

"Well tha answers my question."

"I've never had them catch me doing it."

"Perhaps we should wait until noon to find food, they should all be at work at tha time, In the mean time I should probably continue finding a job."

"If you can find one today perhaps you can earn enough money to buy something for us to eat.

"I 'ope so laddie, I 'ope so." They continued to scower the city for any kind of job, Buck didn't care what it was, as long as it paid enough money for him to put food on the table, but every place he went to turned him down, either because they didn't accept weasels or because they wanted him and Edmond. This day wasn't going very well, and it was about to get worse, as they walked by an ally Edmond felt something strong quickly grab him, cover his mouth, and pull him into an ally. It was done so quickly and quietly that Buck didn't even know Edmond was no longer behind him.

"Scream and I'll slit your throat." The figure threatened, it then turned the young weasel around reveling itself to be another rat, but this wasn't one of the ones that was harassing him the other day, this one was older, bigger, and stronger. It tied Edmonds paws behind his back and stuffed a gag in his mouth. "Your going to make me a nice sum of money."

"mmmphmmhph mmmphmmmph." Was all Edmond could say with the gag in his mouth, and the rat just chuckled evilly.

"Whats that? You want to be sold into servitude? Okay, I can make it happen." The rat responded mockingly as little Edmond began to cry.

_Why does everything bad always happen to me? What did I do to deserve this? _He thought bitterly as he was carried away.

Meanwhile Buck just noticed that Edmond was no longer behind him. "Edmond? Edmond where are ya?" He looked around and saw him no were, his heart sank, he knew he had gained his trust and was certain he wouldn't of just ran away, something must of happened to him, he began to panic as he frantically searched the area for any sign of him, but there was none. _"I've only 'ad 'im fo' a day and I've already lost 'im, wot kind of a father am I? _ He thought sadly to himself as he went and sat on a bench felling completely hopeless and useless. He thought about everything that could of happened to or could be happening to the little weasel kit right now, and it made him shiver in horror. _I'm the worst father ever. _Then another thought hit him. "Tha's it, I'm no' gonna fail anyone else gain, I need to get my family over 'ere to safety and by god I'm gonna do it!" He said to himself as he got up and marched off in search for a job that would employ him.


	3. Chapter 3

Ice Age and its characters are property of Blue Sky Studios.

* * *

Edmond was taken into a building and thrown into a cage in a dark room. "Were am I? Whats happening?" He asked terrified.

We're to be sold off as slaves to factory owners." Said a female voice coming from across the room.

"Who said that?"

"We all are." Said a male voice from above.

"Whos saying all that... I wanna go home." He said shivering in fright. Then the door opened and the lights were turned on, reveling a room filled with caged children of various species, most didn't appear to be over 10 years old, as a mean looking cat came in the room.

"Alright you brats, the auction has begun, if you do as told this will be painless, but if you resist I will hurt you. Ok, first up cage 1." The cat said pointing at a cage behinds Edmonds that contained a very young male rat, it appeared to be even younger than him, at least 5. The child obeyed an entered the arena. The cat continued to come and select other prisoners to be sold, ranging from mice to raccoon kits. Eventually it was Edmonds turn. "You, weasel, your next!"

"M-Me?"

"No, the invisible weasel in that open cage, OH COURSE I MEAN YOU, YOU NIT WIT!" The cat then grabbed him and threw him into the arena.

"And here we have item number 63, a 6 year old weasel, fearful of everyone, very submissive, and capable of getting to the hardest to reach objects, this specimen would make a fine addition to any work force." Said the announcer.

Edmond watched in horror as people began to bid for him, mice, rats, and even a few raccoons and cats. "Going once, going twice, sold to Mr. Gifre for 900!" (that would probably be worth a few thousand today)

_My life is now over. _Edmond thought sadly as he began to cry again. Then an escort came and picked him up and brought him to his new master.

"Ah, theres my little prize." Said Mr. Gifre, a big, fat, mean and greedy looking rat who was very neatly dressed in a tuxedo, top hat, everything you'd expect to see a rich person from this time period to be wearing, and had his pockets stuffed full with cash. Edmond whimpered in fear, he knew nothing good could come from this person. "Oh, don't worry, we're going to be best friends." He said sarcastically while grinning evilly as he picked him up, but Edmond had given up all hope so he didn't put up any resistance as Gifre took him to his factory. "Ok you little brat..."

"Edmond" He squeaked.

"WHAT WAS THAT?"

"Edmond, my names Edmond." He yelped.

"Ok Edmond, I'll let you keep your name, but everything else belongs to me, including your freedom, you will do as I say or be punished severely, understood?" Edmond nodded. "Good, your job will be to pick up any cotton that falls off that machine over there, our last boy who was responsible for that job was... well, lets just say it wasn't pretty." Edmund gulped, he had a good idea of just what happened. "But if you do your job you will be fed and if you keep a good record I might let you go when you turn 17." This was enough to somewhat lighten his spirits as he was desperate for food and at least this servitude wasn't for life.

"O-k-k, when do I start?"

"Right now, you see that machine over there?"

"Yes."

"Thats your station, now get to work!" He then kicked Edmond out of his office and onto the factory floor. It was an unpleasant place, it was crowed with people moving about everywhere, it was kept hot and humid, and it was noisy. He went over to the machine which was an infamous spinning mule, he watched as it moved forward, paused for a minute, then came back, increasing in speed as it moved farther back until it cam to a halt, then it began the process again. It didn't look the least bit safe, the wheels looked like they could cut through bone and it had pillars that held the machine up that someone could be crushed between as the mule part literally came all the way up to the pillars, leaving no room between the two, this unnerved him but if it meant he could finally be fed properly then it was worth the risk, or so he thought. He got down on the floor, got a brush, and when the machine went forward he moved under it to collect the numerous scattered pieces of cotton.

_This is easy._ He thought, but then the machine began to move back again and he barely avoided being hit by it and he quickly raced out from under it and clung to a pole, his heart pounding in fear. "That thing almost took my head off!" Then the person in charge of the factory floor, a mouse, came over.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here, a new scavenger?"

"Um, yes." Edmond replied nervously.

"Then why are you hugging a pole and not picking up the cotton, every bit of it is worth a nice sum of money and cannot be wasted, so tell me, why are you not doing your job?"

"That thing almost took my head off!"

"Oh well, lifes tuff, now get back to work or I'll paddle your behind!"

"Yes sir!" He then rushed back to the machine and began to collect more fallen fluff, but it was scary, the machine didn't have any timed pattern, it would roll back and forth at any time, it may wait 60 second, or it may wait 25 seconds, there was no way of telling and every time it rolled back it could of severed a toe, or a paw, or an arm or leg, or even his head, and it almost did quite a few times as he did it all day until 9:30 at night when everything shut down and he reported to Gifre's office.

"You have done well for your first day, so as a reward you get to eat, but let me warn you, if you goof off and stop being productive or misbehave then you can forget about eating and you'll go to bed hungry, understood?"

"Yes sir."

Good, here you go." He then set a bowl of cold, basic soup on the floor.

"Thank you sir."

"whatever."

The soup was awful, but edible, and that was all that mattered, he was exhausted and starved after working for so long on the hot, humid factory floor, and it was devoured in seconds. "So where do I say?"

"Right there." Gifre said pointing to a cage in the corner of his office.

"B-But why?"

"Because no one's willing to take you in, and I'm most certainly not, so this is the only option."

"Can't I just sleep on the floor?"

"NO, NOW YOUR GOING TO SLEEP IN THAT CAGE AND YOUR GONNA LIKE IT!" He yelled grabbing Edmond by the scruff of his neck and shoving him in the cage and locking him in, then he left, turning out the lights and locking the office door, leaving Edmond all alone in the dark. Tears began to well up in his eyes as his situation completely dawned on him and the voices of his parents rang in his head.

_You well never be successful you poor excuse of a mammal, your nothing but a big mistake!_

_Your destined for failure, you will never succeed at anything, your just an accident of nature, you should of never of been born!_

"They're right, I'm nothing but an accident of nature, a complete failure." He wept to himself as he cried himself to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Life in the factory was horrid, every day Edmond was woken up at 4:30 in the morning, given a very small and brief breakfast and then his work day began, he had to collect cotton from under the machine non stop until 9:30 at night in the hot and humid factory and constantly trying to avoid being killed by the machine. There were many close calls, in fact he very nearly lost his tail one time, but when he spent a minute trying to catch his breath the floor monitor came and beat him for not working, and this was enough reason for Gifre to send him to bed hungry. Most days were like this and after a week any hope he had before was gone, and he was growing tired of living such a wretched life, nothing good had ever happened to him, except Buck, he gave him hope for a better life, but he couldn't even have someone to look up to as he was taken away from him, so he started to think about just ending it, just sitting in front of the machine and letting it put him out of his misery, but right before he was about to throw himself in front of the machine, he thought he saw someone familiar. "Buck?" He went in to get a closer look, and much to his surprise and pleasure, it was Buck. "BUCK!"

Buck turned around just in time to be tackled and hugged by a little weasel kit. "Edmond? Is it really you?"

"Yes, I missed you so much."

"Were 'ave ya been, when I noticed you were gone I searched everywhere fo' ya, and when I couldn't find ya... I-I'm the worst father ever."

"No you're not, not even close, my original father insulted me, ignored me, and eventually abandoned me, and I know that if you had caught the rat you would of beat the snot out of him!"

"True, but where were ya, I searched everywhere."

"I was kidnapped and sold to the owner of this factory in an auction, and-and he tries to kill me, he wants me to pick all the cotton from under one of these machines and he doesn't care if I die, and if I don't work to maximum capacity he as me severely beaten and sends me to bed hungry after working 17 hours, and my beds a cage, I can't take it no more, please save me from this." He begged with tears welling up in his eyes.

Buck was shocked by what he just heard, but his thoughts were interrupted when the person in charge of the factory floor came by. "What are you two doing just laying here, GET BACK TO WORK, ESPECIALLY YOU YOU LITTLE BRAT!" He reached in to grab the little weasel when Buck stopped him. "WHATS THE MEANING OF THIS YOU IDIOT, DO I NEED TO REPORT YOU AND HAVE YOU FIRED ON YOUR FIRST DAY!?

"If ya keep treatin my son like this then maybe."

"Your son?, Is that suppose to be a joke? That little brat is the adoptive son of Mr. Gifre, how could you possibly be his father, aside from the fact your both weasels.?"

"According to 'im 'e was sold to Gifre in an auction after being kidnapped, and I remember meeting this young lad the day I arrived 'ere and taking 'im under my care, and I especially remember the day I lost 'em."

"Well then why don't we discuss who owns the little runt with the boss shall we?"

"Fine."

"Good, come with me, and as for you, get back to work, or I'll beat you most severely!"

"You won't lay a finger on 'im as long as I'm 'ere!"

The floor manager sighed in annoyance."Lets go." The two went up to Gifre's office as Edmond got back to work and eagerly awaited the news about what his fate was to be, and a few hours later Buck came out the office and told him.

"Ok lad, I've got good news and bad news, the good news is your once again mine and ya get to come 'ome with me tonight."

Edmond let out a cheer of joy. "Oh thank you Buck, your the best!" He said giving him a affectionate hug.

"But the bad news is we're under contract."

"What do you mean?" Edmond asked all of a sudden worried.

"I mean we both 'ave to work 'ere until I'm 21, and if we leave Gifre will 'ave us 'unted down and brought back to 'im, I'm sorry lad but it was the best I could do." He replied sadly.

"As long as it's you who's taking care of me I'm happy."

Their father/son moment was interrupted when the floor manager came back. "Okay back to work, I don't want any father/son moments taking up work time while I'm on duty." Buck grumbled and went back to his station and they both resumed their work. Life was once again tolerable for Edmond as he and Buck grew a strong father/son bond. He was also happy to be back at his old home, even though it tended to leak and flood when it rained he still preferred it over being cooped up in a cage, and Buck was able to make just enough to feed the both of them, and Edmond began to see hope for a better life again, but all this was about to change when one day he was picking up cotton from under the machine, disaster struck. He was collecting cotton as usual but he wasn't paying much attention to the machine, so when it began to back up he was caught completely by surprise, and in his hast to get out the way he didn't notice a small hole in the floor, and his foot fell right through it, he tried desperately to get it out but in his panic he couldn't get it out. "HELP!" He screamed desperately as the machine got ever closer.

"Edmond! Someone turn off the bloody machine!" No one did anything, so Buck took matters into his own paws as he went over to the emergency shutdown lever and pulled it, and the machine ground to a halt, just inches from little Edmond, he then went and retrieved Edmond, who was shivering and whimpering in fear with his eyes shut tight. "Its alright laddie, I got ya, yer safe now."

"Th-Th-Thank y-you, I-I w-was s-sure I was g-going t-to d-die."

"OK WHATS THE MEANING OF THIS? WHO TURNED OFF THE MACHINE, NO ONES SUPPOSE TO TURN IT OFF WITH OUT MY OR GIFRE'S PERMISSION!" Everyone pointed at Buck. "YOU! YOUR THE ONE WHO TURNED OFF THE MACHINE!?" The floor manager yelled furiously

"I 'ad to or it would of killed my son!"

SO? I DON'T CARE IF THE LITTLE RUNT DIES, HE CAN BE REPLACED, BY TURNING OFF THE MACHINE YOU JUST NEGATIVLY AFFECTED EVERYONE'S PAYCHECK! You are in a heap of trouble young one." He said darkly. "You and your stupid little brat." He then grabbed Edmond who he'd punish first and began to drag him to the other side of the factory floor, his claws scraping against the floor. Buck decided it was time to stand up and fight, if anyone deserved to be punished for breaking the rules, it was him, not a 6 year old child who had done nothing wrong.

"Oi, you put tha child down, 'e did nothin wrong, why are ya punishin 'im, punish me instead! I'm the one who went against factory rules, no' 'im."

"You challenging me punk?" He said, droping Edmond who ran back to Buck and hid behind him

"Maybe."

"You wanna fight about it, because I more than oblige to this challenge."

Buck snorted, this little mouse wanted to fight him, a weasel, he was bigger and stronger than the mouse, and more than likely a better fighter, and he had bigger claws and teeth, he figured this fight wasn't going to last long. "Bring it." They charged and tackled each other, and much to Bucks surprise the mouse managed to hold its own, but then Bucks predator side kicked in and in the middle of the brawl, he went for the mouse's neck and bit down hard, and he was dead before he could say anything. Buck then snapped out of it and dropped the mouse, shocked at what he had just did, as was everyone else. "Uh, ops..." He said nervously.

"Y-You j-just, you..." Edmond started, complexly flabbergasted.

"I didn't mean to!" Then the office door slammed open.

WHAT IS WITH ALL THIS.. OH MY GOD!" Gifre said at the sight of the dead mouse next to Buck. "You!" He said pointing accusingly at Buck. "You will not get away with this, SECURITY!"

"Time to go!" Buck said quickly as he quickly grabbed Edmond and ran out the factory as fast as he could and began to search for someplace to hide.


	5. Chapter 5

Ice Age and its characters are property of Blue Sky Studios

* * *

The two weasels ran as fast as they could to get as far away from the factory as possible. They needed to find somewhere to hide, they couldn't go home, to obvious, and the sewers were to dangerous, and also a bit obvious as a hiding place. They decided to hide in the shipyards which were sparsely populated and had readily available transportation outside the city. They hid in the area around the coal as that was the least busy part of the yards, where they'd stay until they figured out what to do next, though Buck wasn't sure what to do, if he turned himself in then there'd be no one to take care of Edmond, or at least not properly, if he stayed here they could be killed by the humans and their heavy equipment, and if they went elsewhere in the city they'd be caught or in grave danger, though Buck didn't mind the danger himself it was once again Edmond he was worried about, and they didn't have any money so boarding a ship or train was out of the question, unless they snuck aboard one that specializes in carrying cargo but that would also be very hazardous, but it was looking like the best option.

"What do we do now Buck?"

"I'm no' sure, I'm thinking about smuggling us aboard a 'uman cargo train, but I don't know, its still very risky."

"Why did you kill that mouse, even tough I didn't like him one bit and he was a massive jerk?"

"I didn't mean to, I just wanted to teach 'im a lesson and try to protect ya, but when we were fightin I felt something click in my 'ead and the next thing I knew there was a dead mouse in my mouth, I'm no' even sure wot 'appened."

"What if they find us?"

"I'll do my best to make sure they don't, they shouldn't find us 'ere, very few people come to this area and theres only a very small population."

"I'm scared, I don't want you to go to prison."

"I don't either, but if I'm caught then I will serve my sentence, its you I'm worried about."

However little did they know there were a few beings nearby who were watching them, and heard everything that was said. "Are those the two weasels we encountered a month ago?" Asked a rat to his boss.

"I do believe it is, and they're now wanted, I see a perfect opportunity for revenge, what do you say boys?" They responded with sinister laughter as the three rats went to find the police while the two weasels tried to find safe refuge in the yard. They found a small hole under a building they decided to call home until they could think of what to do next.

"What will happen to me if your arrested?" Edmond asked, still very afraid and paranoid about their current situation.

Buck sighed sadly. "You'll probly be sent to an orphanage if they 'ave em 'ere or the police will find ya a 'ome, but I don't trust anyone 'ere to take care of ya since I 'aven't found one being who accepts us weasels."

"Why are people so mean to us?"

"I think its because of the tough times and because were unusual 'ere, and we were once known as vicious predators, which may still be true out in the country but no' in 'eavily populated areas like the city, but I do remember we we're better accepted in Britain."

"Why did you leave Britain?"

"Theres a civil war between us mammals, though I'm no' sure wot started it, but its been getting really intense and my parent wanted to send me to safety so they figured America was my best bet, I jus' 'ope my parents are still 'oldeing up." Then he heard foot steps. "Ya 'ear tha?"

"Here what?" They both heard the sound of a dog walking around and sniffing.

"I smell something in this hole!" It announced, and in seconds police swarmed the room and cornered the two.

"FREEZE! PUT YOUR PAWS UP!" Buck did as told, the officers had guns pointed right at him and he didn't want a fight to break out with Edmond, who was on the ground covering his head shivering in fright right next to him.

"P-P-Please, don't take him from me, he's the only person who's ever cared about me, and... I can't go back to living without him." Begged Edmond.

"We have to son, he's a convicted felon."

"Then take me to jail with him!"

"We can't do that, now come to us, we'll find you a new home."

"I don't want a new home, I want to stay with Buck, and if I can't... then you'll just have to shoot me!" These word shocked everyone, but the police had had enough and one of the officers came in to grab him, but he took off with lightning speed and ran to the water as fast as he could, the police struggling to keep up, and came to an abrupt halt when they saw Edmond leaning over the waters edge. "I'll jump if any of you come near!" He warned.

"Don't do this son, suicide is not the answer."

"It is if the only thing you have to look forward to is a uncaring family who ignores or abuses you or being forced to work in dangerous factorys for 16 hours non stop every single day of the year!" The police then brought Buck over who was horrified to see Edmond doing this.

"Edmond, don't do this, I don't want to see you throw ya life away like this."

"But they want to take me away from you, and I can't live without you, I love you Buck, you're the closest thing I've had to a real father or big brother, you give me hope that life will be better."

Then one of the officers, completely out of patience, went in to nab the weasel kit. "Thats it, I've had it with your shenanigans, come here you little twerp!" This prompted Edmond to make do with his threat as he jumped off the ledge into the harbor. Everyone gasped in horror.

"EDMOND!" Buck screamed in horror as he struggled to break free from his captors

"Stop struggling scumbag, you're not getting away."

"Listin, I could never forgive myself if anything 'appened to tha child, and if your departments no' goin to do anything about it then I will!" His captor stood there pondering on what to do.

"Fine, go save him, but you better not try to escape, we'll have the entire shore lined with officers." The office finally said, unlocking Bucks cuffs.

"I wont, all I care about is Edmonds safety." He then ran towards the edge and dived in after Edmond. He saw him sinking to the bottom unconscious, and swam down to retrieve him, once he reached the drowning weasel he grabbed him and quickly took him back to shore. Edmond was unresponsive so he began to do chest compressions in hopes that he could get the little weasels heart pumping again. After a minute the situation was beginning to look grim, but then, life, Edmond woke up in a coughing fit.

"Were am I?" He asked sorely.

"EDMOND! Thank god your alive! Don't you ever do anything like tha again, I was beginning to think I permanently lost ya."

"Sorry Buck, I just can't bear having to live without you, I don't want to go back to living on my own, struggling to survive or living practically as a slave."

The police then arrived. "Ok you little runt, if you're so determined to stay with this scum, then so be it, but don't think you'll receive any special treatment just because you're a child, you'll be treated like a young adult, understood?"

"Yes sir."

"Edmond don't do this, they'll give you wotever sentence they give me, except the death sentence, but you won't like jail life, and there will be actual criminals there, people who did things tha are worse than wot I jus' did, and on purpose, something could easily 'appen to ya." Buck said sternly.

"I don't care, as long as I'm with you and I don't get punished for doing nothing wrong as well as fed, then I can put up with it."

"I...I still don't like this." An officer came and but Buck back in handcuffs and tried to do the same with Edmond but even the smallest cuffs were too big so they had their strongest officer carry him, but Edmond didn't put up one bit of resistance, he just wanted to be with his adoptive father/big brother, even though he had just killed someone, though at least it wasn't really intentional. Buck didn't bother to escape either, it was pointless, so he stood strong, he would fearlessly face his punishment, no matter what it was. He did however wonder how they were found so quickly, his question was soon answered.

"Hey weasel! Remember us?" The lead rat asked tauntingly.

Wot do ya punks want?"

"I just want to tell you that I told you we'd meet again, and that I would win."

"Wot are ya talkin about?"

"It was I who reported you to the police." He said giving smug grin.

Buck growled angrily. "Why I auta, LE' ME AT 'IM, LE' ME AT 'IM!" He yelled furiously as he struggled to reach the smug rat but was held back, though with difficulty, by several officers.

"Buck no!" Edmond pleaded, but Buck was then knocked out when one of the officers hit him in the head with the but of his gun and was then carried away to jail to await trial.

The rat chuckled. "Goodbye weasels." As he and his trio of troublemakers left.


	6. Chapter 6

Ice Age and its characters are property of Blue Sky Studios

* * *

When Buck woke up he was in a jail cell with a little weasel kit, and he had a splitting headache. "Wot 'appened?" He groaned.

"You were trying to get the rat who reported us when a cop hit you with the but of his gun, are you okay?" Replied Edmond.

"I'm fine, though my 'ead 'urts like 'ell."

"Whats going to happen to us?"

"I expect to get a sentence of several years and if I get tha then it'll be wot you get too."

Then a prison guard came with mail. "Mail for Mr. Buckminster." He said dully, throwing the letter in and leaving.

"Who on earth would be sending me a letter?" He opened the envelope and found that it was from Britain. "Why would my home country be sending me a letter?" He opened it and read, and the expression on his face immediately afterwards said it all, something very bad had just happened. "No, 'ow can this be?" He asked to himself, utter devastation clearly audible in his voice.

"What happened?" Edmond asked worryingly.

"My... My parents are gone." He said quietly as tears began to well up in his eyes.

"You mean their... their dead?"

"Yes, they trusted me to make enough money to buy them tickets over 'ere, and I failed them."

Edmond came over and curled up besides him in an attempt to comfort him, however he began to feel a bit guilty as contributing to the reason why Buck couldn't afford to bring them over, and this made him begin to cry. "I'm so sorry Buck, its my fault your parents could never make it over, if you didn't have to spend money taking care of me then you would of been able to buy them tickets here." He said sadly.

"Don't say tha, I'm glad I met ya, and I know my parents would of approved of what I've done fo' ya, and I like ya, you're a good kid."

"But my original parents said that everything bad that happens is my fault."

"Edmond, don't believe everything they said, no' everythings ya fault, and ya no' an accident, and ya can be successful, my parents knew tha they might be killed by the civil war and they mainly wanted to send me to safety, while I'm very sad they're dead and tha I feel there was somethin I think I could of done to prevent it, none of it is ya fault, if anything I blame the war and those greedy factory owners who pay us little to nothin."

"So... you don't think that I'm the reason you couldn't bring your parents over?"

"No' at all, though I'd like a little quiet time, I need to think some things through."

"Ok, and I'm sorry your parents died."

"Thanks lad."

* * *

(One week later)

It was trial day, and so far it wasn't going to well, Gifre was winning the trial and no one believed Bucks statement about his predatory side taking over, except Edmond, but his opinions and statements were useless as they were simply ignored. Eventually the jury's verdict came. "We find Mr Buckminster to be guilty of murder." Said one of the jury members and everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Buckminster, you are hereby declared guilty of murder, but since your still only fifteen I will show a little mercy, so you and your child are therefore banished from any form of civilization, village, town, city, anywhere a population of animals live in close proximity of each other, you and your child will be dropped off in an area around human farms, just to make the message clear as it won't be to easy surviving around them. Case dismissed."

"Hold on." Mr. Gifre interrupted. "He still killed a person, I want him to be either hanged or sent to prison for life!"

"Normally that would be the case, but since he's not quite an adult yet it is required that for the first offence the subject is given a lighter punishment, but trust me, their life will be constantly filled with danger instead of the relative safety of the city, now this case is dismissed."

Guards came in and escorted the two weasels to a wagon that would take them out to the country, and it soon set off towards their destination. "Buck, I'm scared, what will the humans do to us?"

"If we avoid them then they should leave us alone, so we must be very cautious, 'umans, especially out in the country, don't tend to take kindly to us weasels."

"Why?"

"My father told me tha before mammal populations formed into close communitys and could buy food from stores they 'ad to 'unt fo' all their food, and chickens were a common source, but the 'umans didn't take kindly to this so they tend to be 'ostile towards anything tha preys on their animals but tha's no' the only danger, bears, big cats, birds of prey, and snakes will be a threat, and theirs many more fox's, coyotes, and big 'uman dogs out there as well."

Edmond was now terrified, the wilderness sounded like a scary place to him. "Y-You'll protect me right?"

"Of course I will, I won't let anything 'arm ya, they'd 'ave to get through me first, but don't think to badly of the country, maybe life will actually be better." Said Buck trying to keep a positive mood.

"You think so?"

"Yeah, theres plenty of stuff we could use fo' a 'ome and per'aps the locals will be friendlier, and we should be able to find food in the form of fruits and barrys and maybe a few other things, and its free, and 'ealthier than the trash and bare bone foods your use to, and of course, us weasels are better suited to the country than the big city."

Edmond suddenly felt much better, the country actually sounded like it would be an overall better place than the city. "Thanks Buck, I feel much better now."

"Your welcome lad, try to get some rest, you'll need it fo' the days ahead."

"Ok, I'll try." Edmond then curled up and went to sleep a the wagon took them out of the city and into the country.


	7. Chapter 7

Ice Age and its characters are property of Blue Sky Studios.

* * *

The journey took 2 days but eventually they arrived in the area they were suppose to be sent to and dropped off. Edmond looked around in amazement at his new surroundings, he'd never seen a world like this before. "This is so... different."

"I know, now come, we should find a place to build a 'ome."

"Okay!" Edmond replied very cheerfully, he had never been so happy before, he ran, jumped, and climbed around everything like it was a playground, but Buck was very stealthy and cautious with his movements, checking everything to make sure the coast was clear, but he felt that Edmonds playful behavior might attract unwanted attention.

"Edmond, could ya calm down and stay by my side? We need to be careful, who knows wot might be lurkin around every corner!"

"Oh, sorry Buck, I'm just so exited about this new place!"

"I understand, but until we know more about this place I want ya to be by my side at all times and stay alert, understood?"

"Understood." The two weasels continued in search of a home, eventually they came across an old log.

"Let me check tha log out, we could make it our new 'ome." Buck went over to the log and checked it out, but very quickly discovered that it was already occupied.

"Who are you!?" Asked an angry badger.

"Oh, sorry mate, I didn't know this was ya 'ome."

"GET OUT BEFORE I TEAR YOU TO SHREDS!"

Buck came running back as fast as he could. "Ok, tha will no' be our new 'ome." They went all through the forest looking for a new home but they were all already taken, until they found a tree with a hole in the bottom that was empty. "Looks like this'll be our new 'ome."

"Finally, so now what do we find for food?"

"'opefuly we can find some berries or fruit, if no' then I will 'ave to 'unt fo' our food."

"How can you hunt for food if its against the law to kill?"

"Out in the deep country killing is legal as long as its fo' food, which is why I want ya to be very cautious, jus' because you're a kid doesn't mean most people won't try to kill ya out 'ere, you're an easy meal to other predators."

This terrified Edmond. "R-R-Really?" he squeaked.

"Sadly yes, but I plan on teachin ya to fight and fend fo' ya self."

"REALLY!?" He said excitedly.

"Yep, but first I need to get ya up to 'ealth, ya still on the weak side and need nutrition."

"I'm ready, watch." Edmond tried to lash out at a pretend opponent with kicks and punches but ended up losing balance and falling over.

Buck laughed. "Theres more to fightin then jus random kicks and punches, ya need to anticipate wot your opponent is gonna do and ya need to use your strengths and your surroundings to your advantage, and ya need to be able to find weaknesses in ya opponents and exploit it. Now come, we need to find somethin to eat."

The two weasels went out and spent the rest of the day in the search of anything they could eat, they searched primarily for things that didn't require killing, as Buck didn't want to kill anyone, but he would if he had to. They found some berries and a few old eggs and took them back to their new home. They then had a small dinner and went to sleep.

The next day they went to explore their new location, paying more attention to their surroundings than potential homes and food. Most of what they found was just more forest, but they did find two farms, one was a strawberry farm which could be used as a potential food source, and its owners probably didn't have any problems with small predators like weasels, the other however, was a small family owned farm with animals such as chickens, pigs, and cattle and grew corn. Buck doubted that its owners would take to kindly to predatory animals and felt unsafe near it. "Edmond, when I start to let ya go out on ya own once ya know 'ow to fend fo' ya self, I want ya to stay away from this farm, its to dangerous, I wouldn't be surprised if the owner 'as traps lied out around 'ere and actively 'unts."

"I won't."

"Good, now lets get away from this place, I don't feel safe." They left the area and continued exploring and eventually found a shallow creek, which Edmond charged right into and began splashing around playfully in.

"This water is so much better than the water in the city."

"I'm no' surprised, tha water was nasty." He watched as Edmond continued to splash about in the water, but when he stopped paying attention he all of a sudden found himself soaking wet.

"Got you!" Edmond said playfully.

"Oh yeah." Buck said grinning as he dove into the water and splashed Edmond, who proceeded to splash back as he laughed and giggled. The two weasels ran and jumped around the creek splashing each other until Edmond got up close to Buck and playfully tacked him.

"Got you again Buck!"

"Are ya certain?"

"Yep!"

"Well its actually me who 'as you!" He said as he flipped over and began tickling Edmond who burst out in laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHA S-STOP AHAHAHA!"

"Do I 'ear a please?" He teased playfully.

"HAHA P-PLEASE AHAHAHA!"

Buck then ceased the tickling. "Ok, tha's enough fo' today." He said with a hint of tiredness as he got up and Edmond started to calm down.

"That was fun, can we play something else?"

"Sorry lad, but I'm all worn out, besides, its getting late, we should probably be on our way back 'ome."

"I guess your right." He said slightly disappointed after seeing that the sun was going down. However, as they headed back home, they heard a loud bang, and the two instantly stopped in their tracks. *BANG* They heard it again, and Buck instantly knew what it was.

"Edmond, listin 'ere now, I want ya to run as fast as ya can, as if ya life depends on it, don't ask any questions, jus' run, I'll be right behind ya." He said very sternly, and Edmond could tell that this was no laughing matter. He nodded and took off running as fast as his legs could carry him, with Buck right behind him as they heard yet another loud bang.


	8. Chapter 8

Ice Age and its characters are property of Blue Sky Studios.

* * *

The two weasels ran for their lives as more bangs were heard and other animals, both big and small also ran for their own lives while others hid themselves. Then they heard loud, aggressive barking. "Edmond, their bringing in dogs, we need to climb, go fo' that tree." Edmond did as told and jumped onto a tree and began to climb, but he wasn't strong enough to pull himself up the tree quickly enough, which Buck soon discovered when he began to rapidly out climb him. "Come on Edmond!" He urged.

"I... I can't, my arms and legs are aching already!"

Buck quickly came down to assist. "Climb on my back, I'll carry ya up." Edmond used all his available strength to heave himself onto Buck's back as he began to ascend the tree, just as 2 hunters with 5 hunting dogs arrived.

"Theres two more, shoot em!" The other hunter aimed his rife and fired, and almost hit the two weasels as they went higher up the tree. He fired off two more shots but none of them hit there mark and by then the weasels had disappeared out of sight. They continued to climb until they were close to the top, were Buck collapsed onto the branch exhausted.

"I think We'll stay 'ere fo' tonight." He gasped.

"Is it safe up here?"

"Its safer then goin back down were those 'unters are." Through the night they heard more gunshots and even the occasional scream of pain and death of other animals being shot and killed. Neither of them could get any sleep until very late at night, and were soon woken up a few hours later when the sun came up.

"Awww, I hardly got any sleep." Groaned Edmond.

"Ya no' the only one." Buck replied sleepily. "Why don't we go back 'ome, its no' a good idea to 'unt or scavenge fo' food or do any work while tired." Edmond then climbed on Bucks back as they descended back down to the forest floor, but when Buck set foot on the ground, he felt something unusual, it was very cold, hard and bumpy. "Edmond, I need ya to 'old on to the tree fo' a minute, theres somethin I don't like 'ere."

"I'll try." He proceeded to crawl onto the bark and held his place as Buck investigated the strange object. It was mostly covered by leaves, he brushed them off and discovered it was a chain, he brushed off more leaves until they revealed a part of a jagged metal jaw and he backed away immediately, he'd seen these before.

"You can come down now, but be very careful, theres a trap 'ere." Edmond climbed down as carefully and stood as close to Buck as he could for fear of more traps. "Stay close, there might be more." The two weasels proceeded to ever so carefully make their way back home, but on their way back they felt the ground began to shake.

"Um, Buck, whys the ground shaking and rumbling?" Buck looked around frantically, he had a very bad feeling about this, when he suddenly saw it, there was a massive stampeding herd of deer heading right for them.

"RUN!" Buck yelled as the two weasels ran as fast as they could but the stampede caught up with them. They desperately tried to avoid being trampled to death but got separated, but they didn't realize this yet. Soon the last of the herd came into view and they could see what was causing it, there was a pack of wolves chasing them, and was on one deers tail, when suddenly, one of them made their move and bit the neck. The deer screamed in pain as it fell to the ground and the other wolves pounced on it and began tearing at the flesh. Edmond was horrified and ran away as fast as he could, completely forgetting about Buck, who was clinging to a tree. He soon climbed down and got out of the area as fast as he could, forgetting about Edmond. Both weasels ran two separate ways and only realized they had lost each other when they stopped to catch their breath. This scared Edmond even more.

"Buck? Buck where are you?" He asked, getting increasingly scared as the predicament he was in hit him hard, he was alone, in a place were he his just another food source.

Meanwhile Buck was looking for Edmond. "EDMOND." He called out, but there was no response. "EDMOND CAN YA 'EAR ME?" Still no response. Buck felt his heart sink, he would never forgive himself if he let that kit die, he felt he'd already failed his parents, and he wasn't about to fail his adoptive son, he went back to where he last saw him and, ignoring the wolves, which ignored him as well as he was too small to be a threat or of any interest, he began to sniff around the area, trying to pick up Edmonds sent, when finally, he picked up a familiar sent, he was sure it was Edmonds, and he began to follow it, he wasn't going to rest until he found his son.

* * *

Note: I am heavily considering experimenting with romance. I will first try it in a ANM one shot which will be on the relationship between Buck and his pineapple, and William and his classic Maserati. If I feel that its a success, I will consider experimenting with adding a love interest in the next chapter of this as well as in ANM 4. Now its not guaranteed I will add a love interest in this story even if I feel my experiment is a success as the original plans for this was a very dark ending, if I add a love interest then I will probably go for a happier ending. Hopefully this experiment wont be a complete train wreck.


End file.
